Over $50B Went To Boom-Era Software Companies That Haven’t Raised In 4+ Years

Joanna Glasner jglasner 0 Shares Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Startups raise cash when funding is flush and try to conserve it to power through leaner times. But typically the runway only lasts so long. If a venture-backed company has gone more than four years between funding rounds, the forecast generally looks dim. It becomes increasingly unlikely that it will secure another good-sized financing or a sizable exit. Four-year funding gaps are especially top of mind these days, as it’s been that long since U.S. venture investment hit its all-time peak. During the boom that lasted from 2020 to early 2022, software companies in particular routinely raised megarounds at rich valuations. That, as we know, resulted in some strong exits, a lot of mediocre outcomes, and quite a lot that haven’t flourished. Stranded software unicorns For many, flush times came to an abrupt end. Per Crunchbase data, more than 150 boom-era U.S. software and software-related companies with $100 million or more in equity funding have not raised capital in over four years, remain private and have not been acquired.1 Collectively, they were a well-funded bunch. Companies in the cohort that raised their last round during the peak 2 pulled in over $51 billion in aggregate funding, per Crunchbase data. The list also contains a number of companies that were fairly high-profile startups several years ago. Examples include: Carta: The equity and fund management software platform raised close to $1.2 billion in total funding but hasn’t reported a new round since 2021. OpenSea: The NFT marketplace operator raised over $427 million in equity funding but closed its last round just over four years ago. Calendly: The developer of the popular scheduling app secured $350 million in 2021 and hasn’t raised a round since. Since Calendly was mostly self-funded for its first seven years of existence, however, we’d guess it’s not a company that’s likely to be in financial distress. Using Crunchbase data, we put together a longer sample featuring 10 companies. Where are they now? The ranks of companies that haven’t raised for years include a mix of those that are still active, have shuttered or are quietly winding down. For software startups in particular, many can continue eking along with a skeleton staff and a sparsely supported offering without formally shutting down. Or, they might be doing fine, given the capital they raised at the peak. Given these are private companies, we can’t peek under the hood regarding details of their financial condition. All we can say is they haven’t disclosed a new round for some time. Related Crunchbase query: Heavily Funded US Software Companies That Haven’t Raised In 4+ Years Related reading: Global Venture Funding And Unicorn Creation In 2021 Shattered All Records Illustration: Dom Guzman Some companies not included here were acquired in asset sales, resulting in a majority to total loss for most backers. Most acquisition prices are not disclosed.↩Parameters for peak investment used in our query were Jan. 1, 2020, through March 1, 2022.↩ Tagsfintech SaaS software unicorn web3 Stay up to date with recent funding rounds, acquisitions, and more with the Crunchbase Daily. Artificial intelligence • Crypto • M&A • Regional • Seed funding • Startups • Venture Q1 Global Startup Funding Posts Strongest Quarter Since Q2 2022 With A Third Going To Massive OpenAI Deal April 3, 20257 Min Read